WILMINGTON, Mass. — Ronald D. Croatti, chairman, president and CEO of UniFirst Corp., died Tuesday, May 23, as a result of complications associated with pneumonia, the company reports. He was 74.
“The loss of my dear brother and our company leader is profound,” says Cynthia Croatti, executive vice president. “His life was dedicated to the success of UniFirst, as well as to each and every member of our extended UniFirst family, 13,000 people strong. His vision, leadership and love for family will be missed immensely, but will live on for generations to come.”
Croatti joined the company in 1965 and trained under his father and company founder, Aldo. He gained valuable, firsthand experience working in virtually all areas of the company, excelling in service, sales, operations and management, before being named a senior executive in 1986, when annual revenues were approximately $100 million, according to the company.
UniFirst says that since Croatti became the company’s chief executive officer in 1991, UniFirst more than quintupled its annual revenues to $1.5 billion today.
Croatti and UniFirst were also regularly recognized in the media over the years, according to the company. He was named Executive of the Year by the Best in Biz Awards and was featured in an episode of the CBS-TV reality show Undercover Boss.
UniFirst has been ranked by Forbes magazine on its “Platinum 400-Best Companies in America” list, named by Apparel magazine as one of “America’s Top 50 Apparel Companies” for nine consecutive years, named one of Selling Power magazine’s “Top 50 Best Companies to Sell For” every year since 2003 and recognized annually by the Boston Globe on its “Globe 100” list for the last 28 years.
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